Possibility of employing thermal stresses as a cutting device for brittle materials

Time-dependent thermal stress singularities at a semi-infinite crack tip associated with a transient temperature field have been analyzed on an infinite plate with a point heat source near the crack tip. As the heating begins, a mode I singularity increases gradually with time, but, after showing its maximum, decreases to be negative. This singularity variation causes a crack to start growing at some instance, but soon after to stop. That is, crack growth may be controlled, which is desirable for a cutting device for brittle materials. Deflection of a heating point from a crack line results in a mode II stress singularity, which also leads a crack to swerve from the original crack line. In an experiment using glass plates, a crack was successfully controlled to grow and also to branch in any angle toward the heat source as long as the heating location was kept appropriately apart from the crack tip.